This application is a National Stage Application of PCT/EP2011/050606, filed 18 Jan. 2011, which claims benefit of Serial No. 10000930.7, filed 29 Jan. 2010 in Europe and which applications are incorporated herein by reference. To the extent appropriate, a claim of priority is made to each of the above disclosed applications.
The present invention relates to a cable sealing device for sealing a passage of a cable, to a cable termination provided with the cable sealing device and to an attaching device securable to a cable for supporting an installing of the cable sealing device on the cable.
A cable sealing device is e.g. known from WO 2007/014385 A2, which finds particular application in the field of telecommunication technology to which the present invention preferably relates.
The known cable sealing device provides a sealing part having a passageway through which a cable is guidable, wherein said passageway accommodates an inner seal for sealing the passage of the cable. The sealing part further comprises an outer thread engagement for cooperating with an internal thread engagement provided in an opening formed in a cable sealing and retaining device to which the cable sealing device is securable. This engagement provides an outer seal for the sealing part. The cable sealing device has a fixation part formed by a grip means received in the passageway of the sealing part. Particularly, the grip means abuts against an inner longitudinal surface provided with the sealing part to retain the sealing part in longitudinal, i.e. in axial direction thereof. The grip means has an aperture through which the cable axially extends, wherein the aperture has such a size that the grip means is allowed to grip and, thereby, to be retained on the cable. The grip means is sandwiched in the passageway by the axial inner surface of the sealing part and the inner seal. The cable sealing device has a washer arranged on the other side of the inner seal to prevent wear or damage of the inner seal by a bolt portion screwed into the passageway and compressing the inner seal to be radially deformed, thereby achieving the sealing performance. The cable sealing device is substantially secured to the cable by the pressing force exerted by the grip means and further optionally by the inner seal in its compressed state on the cable.
The cable sealing device cannot reliably prevent, for instance, in an assembled state to a mounting like a cable sealing and retaining device, a twist and/or an axial displacement between the cable and the cable sealing device when a force, e.g. a pulling force acting on the cable in its longitudinal direction is larger than the retaining force of the grip means. Thus, by the axial displacement of the cable with respect to the cable sealing, a damage of the outer cable jacket can arise due to possible sharp-edged parts of the grip means press-fitted on the cable, wherein, for instance, an optical fibre element guided by the cable is also subjected to the risk of being damaged.
Moreover, in case of securing the cable sealing device to a commonly known cable having an attaching part connectable to a connector and providing strain relief as e.g. described in WO 2007/039585 A1, the cable sealing device can only be mounted on the cable adjacent to the attaching part, wherein, in a mounted state of the cable sealing device to the cable sealing and retaining device, at least the attaching part projecting from a longitudinal end side of the cable jacket extends into an accommodating space provided inside the cable sealing and retaining device, thereby reducing the accommodating space required for performing operations on said cable or for accommodating one or more connectors connected to the attaching part of one or more connectorizable cables, respectively. Further, an assembling of the cable sealing device on the cable is complicated due to the plurality of parts, their small shape and the respective effort required for mounting the grip means and the remaining parts on the cable.